Mitsubishi gets reservations explanation right

imiev-orderWhy couldn’t Nissan have been as clear as Mitsubishi is being about the reservation, ordering and delivery process for its electric car?

Mitsubishi, which just announced that it will be offering a base version of the all-electric iMiEV for a bit under $28,000 in the U.S., meaning that if you qualify for the full $7,500 federal tax credit, you can get an “i” for $20,000, or even less if you live in a state with generous EV tax credits such as California or Colorado — is taking reservations in the order in which they’ll be fulfilled.

That means if you live in California, Oregon, Washington or Hawaii, you can order your “i” now and receive it by Jan. 31, 2012. Consumers in other states wil be able to reserve an “i” later, and will see it arrive later, according to a very exact, and refreshingly transparent and clear order and delivery schedule laid out by Mitsubishi.

Below is Mitsubishi’s announced schedule of reservation and order dates — Nissan, this is exactly the way you should have handled this.

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Hats off to Mitsubishi
Hats off to Mitsubishi for getting this right.

Yes, Mitsubishi has qualifying language at the top of its announcement, but we’re going to assume that states will remain grouped together and “i” orders will arrive first in the first set of states, 2nd in the second set of states, etc.

There is no implication of a national reservations line here that we can see, which is what Nissan implied with its reservation process, even though it looks like LEAF reservers who reserve from LEAF roll-out states a year or more later than those who reserved from non LEAF rollout states might get their LEAF first.

The Mitsubishi i delivery schedule
Dates listed below are estimated and subject to change.

  • California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington.
    Finalize your Mitsubishi i order by: 10/1/11
    Receive it by: 1/31/12
  • Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia.
    Finalize your Mitsubishi i order by: 1/1/12
    Receive it by: 4/30/12
  • Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.
    Finalize your Mitsubishi i order by: 8/1/12
    Receive it by: 11/30/12
  • Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
    Finalize your Mitsubishi i order by: 10/1/12
    Receive it by: 1/31/13

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